


The Real Book 3 of Breaking Dawn: Edward

by moschi_moschi



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types, Vampires - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-11
Updated: 2014-12-11
Packaged: 2018-03-01 01:39:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2754836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moschi_moschi/pseuds/moschi_moschi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bella goes into labor and all hell does not break loose. This is how book 3 in Breaking Dawn should have started.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Real Book 3 of Breaking Dawn: Edward

Principles of Goodfic

Follows canon  
Deviates from canon text to retell the story  
Good characterization  
Proper spelling and grammar  
Uses original characters and AU  
Easy to follow in terms of dialogue  
Contains new material  
Has an enticing title  
Uses metaphor (when possible) rather than description  
Breaks up dialogue with action, and vice versa 

 

A thousand thank yous to my beta, Noelle Knox, for editing this when it was garbage and for understanding the direction it is moving in...looking forward to finishing this with her help. 

 

The Real Book 3 of Breaking Dawn: Edward

1.

The metallic smell of warm, wet blood pierced my nostrils as I watched Bella’s delicate, mortal body writhe in pain. The creature we made together was trying to bite and claw its way into our world, not knowing that by doing so, my entire world was ending. Whose blood I was smelling, I couldn’t tell, but it had become much easier to resist temptation now that I was familiar with Bella’s taste and the dry ache in my throat that arose whenever I indulged in her. In this moment, I felt a white hot anger towards the demon creature that was working its way out of my sweet Isabella and simultaneously killing her.   
Blinded by rage, I only heard the sound of it tearing itself free from her soft, human womb.   
“Now, Edward! I said now!” Carlisle spat, indicating that it was time for Bella to be transformed. I knew this was her wish, knew that this was the only way for us to be together, but still I hesitated. How could I go through with this? How could I make her a monster, like myself? She had a choice in this matter, a choice I never had. Now, I did have a choice. I could change her, as she wanted, or I could act on my own and grant her the mortality she’d never have again.   
“Edward, you must act quickly. There isn’t time to falter, or it will be too late.” Carlisle was much more composed now. His voice in my head told me the doctor in him had returned, now he was trying to remind me that this was her request, not mine.   
Acting hastily, jolted by the urgency of Carlisle’s thoughts, I began to inject my own venom into Bella’s veins. I started with the pulse in her wrist, then moved to her neck, finishing with her heart. I licked each bite to ensure the venom would take, but inside Carlisle’s mind, I heard my own anxious thoughts confirmed.  
And now, we wait.

 

2\. 

For twenty four full hours, I sat next to Bella, waiting. I supposed I was being impatient, and I could hear Carlisle and the rest of the family in the other room talking about me.  
“Is he insane? I definitely wouldn’t want to be there when she wakes up,” Emmett asked.   
“He’s not insane, Emmett. He’s in love.” Esme cooed.   
“He is insane. He’s insane for not coming out here and meeting this darling little baby. He has no idea what he’s missing.” I heard the contempt in Rosalie’s voice, which she made little effort to hide, but her thoughts told me she was mostly speaking out of jealousy. Then I heard something else in Rosalie’s head, something that lit me up and sent me flying into the living room to meet the rest of the family.  
“Unless you want everyone to hear that, I’d suggest you keep your thoughts to yourself,” I say slowly.  
“Hear what?” She asked, feigning innocence.  
“Don’t try and play the victim now, Rosalie. I think we all know who is more reputable in this situation.”  
Rosalie shot daggers at me with her eyes, which to the rest of the family, may have actually looked intimidating. However, I could hear her silent pleads for me to keep my mouth shut. After the stress of the last few months, that was all I needed to make my move. Her thoughts had finally crossed the line.  
“She was hoping that Bella wouldn’t wake up. She thinks that if Bella doesn’t make it through this, then she will be able to keep our”--I almost choked on the word-- “child for herself.” Rosalie’s daggers had all but sent the room up in flames. Still, no one looked shocked.  
“Edward--” Esme started, but Carlisle cut her off.  
“Son, come with me for a moment. I want to talk to you.”   
I followed Carlisle out of the room, noticing the whole time how hard he was working to keep me from his true thoughts. 

 

3\. 

It wasn’t until we got to a large thicket in the woods that Carlisle let his guard down and I finally began to understand what was going on.   
“You can’t hold it against her, Edward. She will never get to experience this...the fact that you and Bella will have it all is hard for her to handle. You have to try to understand that. Just try.” Carlisle sounded tired, and I knew this was a conflict he’d been wrestling in his head for days. “I expected this could happen with Rosalie, but I really didn’t expect...” He trailed off. He didn’t have to finish his sentence, I knew how it ended.  
“You didn’t expect it to survive.” I said, matter-of-fact.   
“I’ll be honest with you, when Bella went into labor, I thought you’d make the decision to sacrifice it and save her, whether she wanted that or not. I don’t underestimate your love for her, Edward, but when I watched it killing her, I thought for sure you’d--”  
“I would never have done that, Carlisle. Even though that may have been what I wanted, and even if that was the wiser option from the beginning, Bella would never condone it. If she loves it, and God knows that for some reason, she does love it, I will do my best to love it too.” I tried to sound convincing, but even I wasn’t sold.  
“You’re protective of her, Edward. That’s what you’re feeling right now. It’s hard for you to get past the fact that this baby did so much damage to the woman you love, but you will get past it. And when you are like we are,” Carlisle took a small step to the right, allowing a sliver of sunlight to dance upon his glittering skin, “you know how not to take things for granted. I have faith that you’ll come around. I think Bella does, as well, or else she wouldn’t have gone through with the pregnancy. But what she’s given you is such a precious gift, Edward, something our kind doesn’t ever experience, even in an eternity. That’s why you need to cut Rosalie some slack, just for now, until she comes to terms with things.” Carlisle stepped towards me, putting a hand on my shoulder. It was amazing to me that someone like him, who had no biological children of his own, could be such a natural father. I, on the other hand, had a newborn baby just a few miles away and I couldn’t bring myself to lay eyes on it.   
“What about Esme?” I asked. “How is it that she’s okay with this, if Rosalie isn’t?”   
“Esme feels satisfied by her role as a mother to all of you. She certainly has an abundance of maternal instinct, but she isn’t picky about who she cares for. To her, this baby is a grandchild. She is excited, of course, but even more, she is proud of you.”  
“Proud of what? Proud of me letting my wife give birth to a demon? Of making her into a monster, just so she can go on living with me, keeping me company for the next thousand years of torment? That’s nothing to be proud of,” I said, disgusted with myself. I hadn’t felt this way about my condition in years; not since that one fateful night that Bella was first put in danger, when James had given her her first bite.  
“There’s a great deal to be proud of, son. You have been so strong for her, so much stronger than any of us could have known. Since you’ve known Bella, you’ve always put her safety first. Esme and I know you will do the same for your daughter.”  
“My--my daughter?” I asked. I really hadn’t paid the baby much attention, never once noticing that it was a girl.   
“That’s right.” Carlisle smiled warmly.  
Suddenly, something in me felt drawn back towards the house. I predicted that this was the instant urge to see my daughter, but there was something else that made me want to get home...the pungent smell of werewolf.

 

4.

Getting back to the house, the stench of dog was unmistakable. I could hear Jacob’s deep, raspy cackle coming from inside. We had all agreed he could keep guard, but why would they let him in? I wondered. What could he possibly want from us? He had to know that Bella was in the process of being transformed, and we all knew that spelled war for the vampire and werewolf clans. I tuned into Carlisle’s thoughts to see how he felt about having them there, but I got nothing. Oftentimes, listening to Carlisle was like listening to white noise or the jazz station on the radio--it was peaceful.   
I burst through the front door without warning, and what I saw stopped me dead in my tracks. There, in the middle of the room, with my entire family of vampires circled around him, Jacob stood gazing down at a small bundle in his arms. Even from the doorway, I could feel the heat that radiated off of his skin, as well as the child’s skin. Strange, I thought. Could the baby really be giving off warmth? Throughout the pregnancy, I was under the impression that it was more vampire than human, especially given its cravings for blood. I guessed that it could be more human than I had anticipated, but as soon as that thought entered my mind it was replaced by the sudden realization that Jacob was holding my baby...and I myself had not yet held my baby.   
Something happens, though, when someone is holding a child, that makes you instantly calmer. Since this was the case, I approached Jacob slowly, cautiously, and asked softly, “May I hold her?”  
Jacob grinned from ear to ear. “Of course you can, Dad!”   
It was definitely bizarre to suddenly feel so amicable with Jacob, but watching the way he beamed at my daughter, the unmistakable glow that was emanating from him, brought me comfort. I felt like as long as she was with him, she was safe.   
He handed her over to me. Crazy, I thought, that I’m only just holding her, yet I feel like I’ve known her my whole life. Looking into her perfect, tiny face filled a place in my heart that I hadn’t reached in decades. If I could have cried, I would have. Overwhelmed by emotion, I felt an empty pang in my heart and wished Bella was awake to see this. 

 

5.

It had been 7 days since the birth of our child, and Bella still hadn’t woken up. Carlisle had said that sometimes it takes longer for people to transform, but even he had began to think ominously about the outcome of the situation and couldn’t keep it from me. The baby was growing quickly, and she still didn’t have a name. Looking out for the best interest of our child, I finally decided to ask Carlisle for the truth.  
“I’ll be honest with you, son. I’ve never seen it take this long for someone to transform. It’s not hopeless, of course, but...” he trailed off.  
But there’s no sign that it’s hopeful either, he finished in his head.   
I wasn’t sure how to react to this. I wanted to keep what ever hope I had left, but part of me felt that she wasn’t going to wake up. Somehow, even though I loved Bella with all of my being, it didn’t quite shatter the Earth like I’d always imagined. It was rocked, certainly, but still spinning. Somehow, just the idea of my little girl in the other room gave me something to hold onto, even if Bella weren’t there to share the experience with me.


End file.
